Soil, Manures, Situation, and Enclosures. 



53 



h, and afterwards at o. The latter may be straight, as the previous 



ones, or in the form of a gothic arch, as shown by the figure. This 



brings the hedge to the close 



of the fourth year, when it 



will begin to form an efficient 



barrier, if it has been well 



cultivated and pruned. Its 



breadth at bottom will be 



nearly double its height. 



Future years will give it more 



height ; but it must be espe- 



dally Observed to keep it Fig> 6? -~ End of fourth year or beginning of 



J fifth. 



always narrow at top, so that 



the foliage above shall not shade that below, nor injure the broad 



thick growth at bottom. 



Hook to Trim Hedges. With a common corn-knife, like that 

 shown in Fig. 68, one man has trimmed from half to three-quarters 



Fig. 68. 



Fig. 69. 



of a mile of four years' hedge on both sides in a day striking 

 upwards and cutting it to a peak in the middle, like the roof of a 

 house. Subsequently, with a longer handle and straighter blade, as 

 in Fig. 69, he was enabled to work more easily and rapidly. As the 

 hedge becomes older, the labor will probably be somewhat increased. 



